The Boy from Another World
by Talls
Summary: A girl from the town of Maidenvale goes to the School for Good and meets a boy from the "real world" and they fall in love.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As I awoke one morning, my eyes still getting used to the light pouring in through my window, I glanced outside, to where my father, chopping wood for the roaring fireplace, could be seen on the outskirts of the woods. "Dad!" I yelled. I knew I shouldn't have left the curtain open, especially now in the summer. "What time is it?" he glanced up at the sky, telling in a way I could not, the time of day. "You've slept enough Asia. Come, I need wood chopped for the fire." I groaned and pulled of the cover. I grabbed a string I used to keep my hair back, my hairbrush and an apple. In the twenty seconds I had until I needed to get outside, I quickly brushed my short blond hair, pulled it into a knot and took three bites of my apple before I burst outside. We don't have a lot of apples in my family, but I can sometimes find some. That's because my grandfather was the huntsman that spared Snow White from the Evil Queen. He never went to the school, of course, but he was a fine trapper for the old king, the one who was killed by the Evil Queen. No one in my family has ever gone to the School for Good and Evil as far back as anyone can remember. We live outside of Maidenvale and my father works as a carpenter and farmer. "Asia," my father began, then stopped, as if the subject was to hard to explain in words. "What is it father?" I asked anxiously. I was thirteen now, my birthday was last weekend. I felt I was now in my nature to be impulsive. "your flowerground ticket, it arrived this morning." A flower ground ticket? I thought. But why would I get a flower ground ticket unless I was going to… "I'm going to the school for good." I said, gasping in pure shock. Then I fainted.

I opened my eyes and realized I was still in the woods. "see?" my father said, propping up my head with a piece of wood. "you're a natural at the princess thing." I snorted and stood up, brushing leaves of my pants. "take that back." I said, pushing him into a oak. Now my dad was the one to snort. "We have to go into town. you need some new clothes." I stared at him blankly. "princesses wear dresses." my dad explained. "I know." I said. "but the prospect of you shopping was so odd I had to stare. He laughed and pulled out a letter. "Dear Asia of Maidenvale." I began. "I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the School for Good. Enclosed below is your flowerground ticket." my dad handed me the ticket. It was small, with a pink script that read. "Flowerground ticket, Abora line." I tucked it into my pocket and continued to read. "Your uniform and books will be given to you at the start of term. Class starts on Monday the sixth of August at 6PM sharp. Clarissa Dovey." I laughed and read it again. then my eyes bulged. "Dad." I said turning around. "I have be there later today." The smile erased from his face. "run into the house and pack all your cloths and things!" I ran in and stuffed clothes and items into a small trunk. I lingered over the picture of Mom. It had been two years since she died, but I still missed her. I scanned the now empty bedroom and grabbed the picture. "Come on Asia!" My dad yelled. I ran outside, holding my large trunk with both hands. My dad pulled me to the wagon and we rode into town and to the beauty shop. He slapped a fistful of coins on the desk. " I have a girl who is going to the school for good later today and I need her to look good." A door opened and a woman entered from the back of the shop. She scooped up six or seven of the coins and drummed her bloodred nails on the desk. "Let me see what I can do."

Thirty antagonizing minutes later I was primped, styled and forced, much against my will, into a tight sky blue dress. I looked in the mirror and felt grateful that, while that was probably the worst experience of my life, at least I looked good. "so how do I get onto the flower ground?" I asked as I walked out. He shrugged and replied. "All I know is you throw your ticket onto the ground." I took my ticket out of my pocket and dropped it. A pumpkin shoot out of the ground. I opened the pumpkin lid, revealing a caterpillar in a violet tuxedo and a matching top hat, float in a swirl of what looked like pollon. "No spitting, sneezing, singing, sniffling, swinging, swearing, slapping, sleeping, or urinating in the Flower Ground," He said. His voice was so crabby I wondered what hour he had gotten up this morning. "Violations will result in removal of your clothes. All aboard!"

The vine shot up and yanked me in. I screamed and tumbled through plants and flowers until I saw the flower ground. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it.

It was a huge underground transport system made entirely of huge plants. Dangling passengers so glowing, different-colored tree trunks covered in matching flowers. These color-coded trunks wove together in a colossal maze of tracks. Some trunks ran parallel, some perpendicular, some forked in different directions, but all took riders to their precise destinations in the Endless Woods. I stared in shock at a row of dwarves, clinging to straps off a fluorescent red trunk labeled ROSALINDA LINE. "Hi!" I shouted, as the vine pulled me into the ARBOREA LINE, which I presumed was full of other girls going to the school. I might have been right but I couldn't see any other girls. I was pulled into a churning whirlwind of blue light, brighter than I had ever seen. I felt as if I had become a flower, and I was blooming out of the ground. Colors swirled around me as I bloomed up and out of the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I shot out of the flower ground and gasped in amazement at the beautiful castle of glass above me. "woah" someone behind me called out. I turned around to find a girl, soaking wet, lying on the beach next to the clear water. "She's a reader" I thought. "Hi" I said, helping her up. "I'm Asia." I said. "Claire" said she. I grabbed my handkerchief and gave it to her. she wiped the water of her face then handed it back to me. "thanks." I nodded. "I'm happy to help." She studied me for a minute and said. "so you're a princess?" I laughed. "no," I giggled. "this is the place where girls become princesses and boys become princes." A glow spread across her face as she looked up at the glass castle, haloed in the sunlight. I looked at her clearly. Her glossy blonde hair was tied back and she was wearing a pretty yellow dress. She looked a bit like me, I thought. I turned to the other side of the lake, where the evil castle stood, like a horrible gargoyle ready to strike. With a shudder I turned back to the beautiful castle, with mirrored letters spelling out THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD ENLIGHTENMENT AND ENCHANTMENT over the golden gates. "So this is…." she turned to me. "this is the school for good." I nodded, and noticed another girl walking towards us. "Hi," she said, fidgeting with her long black hair. "I'm Marella." "Asia." I said, a little stiffly. I wasn't used to people being nice to me, as if I could be their friends. "I'm Claire" Claire said. "uh, I think we better get inside." Marella pointed at the fairy patrol. I pulled my chest through the gold gates and the three of us hurried in, eager to start this magical journey.

As I followed Marella through the foyer, I had a better look at the majestic stair room. The wall opposite me had an enormous pink E, with angels fluttering around the sides of the letter. The other three walls had painted letters too, spelling out the word E-V-E-R, two pink and two blue. The four spiral staircases were arranged so symmetrically at the corners of each wall, it was as if every single particle that made up this place was placed using a straight edge. The room was lit by the high stained glass windows. One of the two blue flights had HONOR tattooed along the side, along with paintings of knights and kings, while the other read VALOR, decorated with drawings of hunters and archers. The two pink glass staircases had PURITY and CHARITY written in gold, along with beautiful murals of sculpted princesses and animals. I gasped in amazement, not even looking down as a blue-haired nymph handed me a basket of books:

The Privilege of Beauty

Winning Your Prince

The Recipe Book for Good Looks

Princess with a Purpose

Animal Speech 1: Barks, Neighs, & Chirps

I turn to see the nymph pull out my uniform and I gagged at the sight of it, an appallingly short pink pinafore, sleeves bursting with carnations, worn over a white lace blouse. It reeked of perfume but I slipped it on anyway. Claire, her blond hair still wet, slipped her dress on too and with our tall willowy frame, our blond hair, mine shoulder length, her's a little longer than mine, our skin, not tan but not pasty either, we looked like twins. The only difference was our eyes, hers sea green, mine hazel. She looked at me in my uniform and laughed. "what?" I giggled. laughing was contagious. "I looked at you in your uniform and thought how ridiculous I looked like." We both laughed. I felt a tap on the shoulder and looked up. A pink-haired nymph was holding out our schedules.

Asia of Maidenvale

Good, 1st year.

Charity Tower 35

1: Good Deeds Prof. Clarissa Dovey

2: History of Heroism Prof. August Sader

3: Beautification Prof. Emma Anemone

4: Animal Communication Princess Uma

5:Lunch

6: Princess Etiquette Pollux

7: Surviving Fairy Tales Ava the Lily Nymph

(Forest Group #12)

Claire peeked at my schedule and let out a squeal. "Look! we're bunkmates!" I smiled. Normally people didn't trust readers, but I thought I should take her under my wing. "come on." I said, picking up my trunk and pulling her toward the stairs. "let's see our new room."

"uhh..." I stared at the massive, jeweled mirrors glared back from pink walls with elaborate murals showing princesses kissing princes. I looked up at the beds. Arching over each bed was a white silk canopy, shaped like a carriage, and a mural of clouds covered the ceiling tiles, with smiling cupids shooting arrows from perches. I almost threw up at the sight of it. A glittery sign hung from the door, covered in hearts. WELCOME CLAIRE, JAYDRA, ASIA! I took my sewing kit out of my trunk and put it in my basket. Then I began to put my clothes from home away in a dress drawer and pulled out the picture of Mom and me. "Is that you and your mom?" Claire asked. "yeah" I said. I placed the picture on the dresser as another girl struggled to pull her huge trunk in. I ran over and helped her push it up the stairs and into the room. "Thanks" she said, wiping sweat off her perfect brow. she had bouncy black hair, tan skin and big brown eyes. "I'm Jaydra." I waved. "I'm Claire." Claire pointed to me. "this is Asia." Jaydra mimicked my wave. "are you two twins?" we looked at each other and laughed. "nope," Claire said, barely suppressing a giggle. "just friends." Suddenly I heard jingling. "Fairies" I said. We peeked outside to perfect lines of pink-dressed classmates streaming down the stairs and through the foyer. "The welcoming!" I whispered to my roomates. I squinted at the pink parade. They were all walking towards the Theater of Tales. "come on!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Each school had its own entrance to the Theater of Tales, which was split into two halves. The west doors opened into the Good side, decorated with pink and blue pews and crystal sculptures, mimicking the good castle. The east doors opened into the Evil side, with rotted wooden benches, carvings of murder and torture, and stalactites hanging from the burnt ceiling. As I sat down into the pink pew on the good half for the Welcoming, I watched fairies and wolves guarding the silver marble aisle between us and the Nevers. Clare slid next to me in the pew. "what are we doing here?" I smiled. "you'll see." I turned to Marella, who was sitting on the left. "Hi." she squeaked. Before I could reply the west doors flew open. Sixty gorgeous boys in swordfight stepped out, blades clashing. Tan skin peeked through light blue sleeves and collars; tall boots matched high waistcoats and ties, each embroidered with a gold initial. Sweat on their faces, they rushed down the aisle, boots cracking on marble, until the sword fight died down, as boys pinned boys against crystal pews. as a last part of their flair, they too roses from their pockets and with a shout of "Milady!" threw them to the girls who the most liked. Surprisingly, I got three or four roses as I watched the boys blow kisses at us. In the decayed pews, the villains booed the princes, shouting out insults and making rude gestures. With a bow, the princes prepared to take their seats when the doors suddenly blew open again, and one more walked in.

I gasped, and I wasn't the only one. The boy who walked in didn't resemble any boy I had ever seen. He wore pants of an unknown material, cut unusually short. His shirt was soft cotton, with the words "Under Armor" sewn on. His black hair was tousled, almost casual. He carried no sword, but had a soft pink rose in his hand. "Wait," he said, almost softly. "What is he doing?" I wondered. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?" "He talks strange" I thought. "I wonder where he is from." Claire whispered to me. One of the Everboys stood up and yelled, "Throw it at the girl you like!" All the girls stared at him. He studied the girls in the audience. I felt his eyes scan me for a second before moving on to the next girl. After about a minute of studying he walked over to my pew and handed me the rose. "here you go." he said in his quiet voice. I slowly took the rose from him. "You were supposed to throw it." I said. He laughed and sat down in the blue pew across from me. Gazing at him, so different from the other boys, I felt like I was floating. "what is your name?" I asked. "Nick" he said. "what's yours?" "Asia" I said, blushing. "Asia?" he questioned. "Like the continent?" I raised one of my eyebrows. "what's a continent?" "Ahem" a voice said over me. I turned to see a huge two-headed dog standing over me. "Welcome to the School for Good and Evil," said the nicer of the two heads. From my seat I tracked the massive dog, pacing across a silver stone stage, cracked down the middle. One head was rabid, drooling, and male, with a grizzly mane. The other head was cuddly and cute, with a weak jaw and singsong voice. I wasn't sure if the cute head was male or female, but whatever it was, it seemed to be in charge. "Hi, I'm Pollux, Welcoming Leader," saiId the nice head. "AND I'M CASTOR, WELCOMING LEADER ASSISTANT AND EXECUTIONER OF PUNISHMENT FOR ANYONE WHO BREAKS RULES OR ACTS LIKE AN APE," the rabid one boomed. I scooted away from the dog. "That Castor head scares me." Claire whispered. I nodded but I started to zone out as Pollux explained the School for Good and Evil and the rules. I watched Claire, who was watching the nicer head eagerly, Jaydra, who was filing her nails, and Marella, who like me was not paying attention and staring off into space.

"Rule thirteen. Halfway Bridge and tower roofs are forbidden to students," Pollux lectured onstage, though it was apparent no one was listening. "The gargoyles have orders to kill intruders on sight and have yet to grasp the difference between students and intruders—"

I tried to pay attention, but the lecture seemed to go on forever. I picked at the swan crest on my uniform, but it was stuck on.

"Your first year will consist of required courses to prepare you for three major tests: the Trial by Tale, the Circus of Talents, and the Evers Snow Ball," Pollux smiled though this, like we were baking cookies and drinking hot cocoa instead of facing major trials. "After the first year, you will be divided into three tracks: one for Leaders, one for Henchmen and Helpers, and one for Mogrifs or those that will go through transformation. And for the next two years, Leaders will train to fight their future Nemeses. Followers will develop skills to defend their Leaders. Mogrifs will learn to adapt to their new forms and survive in the treacherous Woods. Finally, after the third year, Leaders will be paired with Followers and Mogrifs and you will all move into the Endless Woods to begin your journeys . . ." I watched my friends, suddenly interested in Pollux. I didn't have to be a teacher to know that Leaders were preferred to Helpers and Mogrifs. "Now as to how we determine your future tracks, we do not give 'marks' here at the School for Good and Evil," Pollux droned on and on. "Instead, for every test or challenge, you will be ranked within your classes. There are 120 students in each school and we have divided you into six groups of 20 for your classes. After each challenge, you will be ranked from 1 to 20. If you are ranked in the top five in your group repeatedly, you will end up as a Leader. If you mostly score in the middle, you'll end up a Follower. And if you're consistently below a 13, then you will end up a Mogrif, either animal or plant." Students on both aisles murmured to each other, already placing bets on who would end up a rosebush. I shuddered. I needed to be on the leader track. I stared at Nick's head from the pew. Maybe I'll be his princess. While Pollux talked for an uncomfortable amount of time about failings, curfew, and other rules, I gazed at my swan crest and thought about home. My dad, home from a full day of carving and trading, cooking chicken and making a beet salad for us to share. Saturdays were his busy days at the market so he would come home with a chicken, a sack of beets that we had collected from the garden, a bag full of coins, and a present for me, maybe some honey or a woodcut bird. I covered the swan crest with my blouse. It disappeared and appeared on my chest, embedded in my skin like a tattoo. I ran my finger over it then uncovered it. It disappeared off my chest and onto my blouse. I frowned and lifted my head. Maybe Pollux had said something about it. "Breakfast and supper will take place in your school supper halls, but you'll all eat lunch together in the Clearing," Castor grunted. "That is, if you're mature enough to handle the privilege." Nope. I returned to staring at my swan. "The Endless Woods beyond the school gates are off limits to first-year students," said Pollux, with a dramatic pause. "And let me remind you of the most important rule of all. One that will cost you your lives if you fail to obey." I watched Pollux warily. His cuddly smile seemed less cute now. "Never go into the Woods after dark," Pollux warned. His cuddly smile returned. "You may return to your schools! Supper is at seven o'clock sharp!" I joined the Evers walking out the east doors and watched the back of Nick's head. "You can do this." I whispered as the fairies marched us into our dorms. "You can be a princess."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day, swan crest twinkling on her nightgown, Marella flurried into our room, basket filled with makeup. "We were supposed to dress up" she said, so she went to work, helping us gloss our lips, style our hair and buff our nails. Still we seemed no closer to being dressed, and indeed, when the clock struck 8:00, signaling the start of breakfast, not me, nor any other girl showed up. As my lips were painted, my hair styled into a fancy braid, my nails buffed and painted dark blue, and my body sprayed with perfume, I sifted through The Recipe Book for Good Looks. Once I was finished she pulled me to a mirror. "Marella," I said, gazing at my face in the mirror. "what?" she gazed at my face as if she had missed something. "you are a miracle worker." I gazed at my face, somehow molded into perfection. My stomach rumbled. "Breakfast makes you fat." Marella said to me. "I at least need an apple" I said, holding my empty stomach. "Just wait until lunch." She said, painting her nails light pink. The clock struck nine. "Come on Asia!" Claire pulled me from the mirror. "We need to go to class!" I grabbed my sewing kit, notes, and basket and followed Claire down the stairs.

"Welcome to Good Deeds," said Professor Dovey to the students settled into their desks in the candied classroom. "Every time you do a Good Deed, your soul grows purer and more Good. Though lately, my students have been doing them like chores, preferring to add to their arrogance and waist size." I listened to her drone on about good deeds while jotting down the occasional note. Next to me, Marella buffed her already perfect nails, across to the left, Claire was dutifully taking notes, and behind me, I could hear Jaydra picking at her swan. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Nick drawing on a sheet of paper. I sneaked a peek at it. It had him, and me, under a huge H. Under the first picture was a sign that said HOLLYWOOD, surrounded by palm trees. He was a good artist. "Now," Professor Dovey finished, holding up a sheet of paper. You will take this 10 question quiz to give me some background on what I need to teach you." She handed the test to me. I opened it up:

Question 1:

An Evergirl you meet on the first day of school keeps telling you about all the famous princes and princesses she's friends with. Do you:

1\. Try to become her best friend so you can hang out with these famous princes and princesses too

2\. Tell her that you have famous friends too

3\. Stay away from her because you hate people like that

4\. Get to know her better and find out what's beneath her obvious insecurity

I wrote 4. "Because she is probably a good person and you should get to know her. she might surprise you."

Question 2:

2\. You and your friend are supposed to write the school play about Cinderella together. But, you realize that he is the worst writer ever. Do you:

Quit the play and let your friend embarrass himself

Help your friend out and try to give him constructive criticism

Tell him you don't like his work and want to write the play alone I wrote 2. "Because if you are a better writer than him, you can give him ideas and help him be a better writer."

I answered the next eight questions, pondering them all, then passed the paper to the professor. She looked at my paper, then placed it on the stack. I went back to my desk, then opened up my sewing kit to do some embroidery. "ahh!" I turned around to a girl laying on the candied floor. She must of tripped on her way to the teacher. "oh no!" she gasped. there was a tear in her uniform. "here" I said. helping her up. I threaded the needle, and quickly mended the tear. "thanks" she said. She handed her test to Professor Dovey, who whispered something to her. "She wants to see you after class." I must of looked puzzled because she said to me, "She is really nice. I'm sure you'll do fine." But I worriedly picked at my sewing until she dismissed the class. Once they had all left Professor Dovey beckoned to me. "Come here." she said. I walked over to her desk and picked up a plum. "may I have this?" I asked as my stomach rumbled. "I didn't have breakfast." She stared at me for a moment then nodded. She pulled out my test. "Asia, first of all, thank you for helping out Jenna. That was very good of you." I nodded. Jenna, so that's what that girl's name was. "Second," she pulled out my test. I peeked at the corner. 95% "You have the second highest score in this class." I dropped the plum in surprise. "Wow." I breathed. "That means next class, when I pass out the grades…." "I'll get a 2" I said. I imagined the silver cloud materializing over my head. "But, because of your good deed." The dean continued. "I will give you a 1." I didn't know what to say. "Thank you." She nodded. "You better get to your next class." I nodded and left.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I hurried into History of Heroism to find Professor Sader doing roll call.

"Jenna"

"Here"

"Asia"

"Here" I squeaked, glad I had made it in on time.

Sader finished up roll call and started to talk. "As you know, I teach fourth session both here and in Evil and cannot be in two places at once. So I'll be alternating weeks between schools," he said, glassy unseeing eyes gazing at us. "On weeks where I'm not here, you'll have former students come to tell their adventures in the Endless Woods. They will also be responsible for your weekly challenges. Finally, given I am responsible for a vast amount of students and a vast amount of history, I do not hold office hours nor will I answer your questions inside or outside of class." "What did he meen by that?" I wondered "If you do have questions," said Sader, hazel eyes staring at me. "you'll surely find the answers in your text, A Student's History of the Woods, or in my other books, available in the Library of Virtue." I frowned and whispered to Claire "He's a crackpot." "yeah." Claire agreed. We diligently took notes as Sader droned on about some famous hero. After about forty minutes of notes Sader finally said. "Class dismissed." I began to pack up my notes when Nick came over. "Hi" he said. I didn't know what to say back. "What were you drawing?" I asked. I had never heard of this Hollywood. His eyes got all soft and misty. "Home." he said softly. "ohh" I said. "Do you miss it?" He nodded. There was nothing I wanted to do more than to pull him into a great big hug, but I refrained.

As I walked to Beautification I passed the woodpecker peeking in the marks. As my last two classes did not give marks, we were at the top with zero. I found my name. Asia of Maidenvale. Below it was Nick's name. Nick of California. "California." I thought. "So that's where he's from." I walked into Beautification and sat down. A few moments later, Professor Emma Anemone, dressed in a hot pink dress cut ridiculously short, walked into her pink taffy classroom.

"Now my first lesson is making smiles kinder." she said somehow still holding a toothy grin. " The key is to communicate with your eyes," she chirped, With her bulging eyes and wild yellow hair, I thought she looked a bit like a canary and almost started laughing, but quickly concealed it in a cough. I tried mimicked her toothy beam with the others but found it much to hard. Instead I thought of Nick. His soft voice, his dark hair, the way he looked when he smiled,the sadness in his eyes when he thought of his home. California. I imagined we would go there, visit the big sign. I smiled dreamily as Professor Anemone walked around surveying the girls. "Not so much squinting . . . A little less nose." I opened my eyes as she drew closer but kept the smile shining bright on my face. "Beautiful!" she screeched. I turned my head to find her staring at me. She pulled me up so everyone could see it. "This is a smile that can win the heart of a handsome prince. A smile that can lead a kingdom to wealth and prosperity!" she pulled me closer to her. "What were you thinking of dear?" A handsome prince? A beautiful ball?" "umm…." I stared at the girls. "yeah." I said. "I was thinking of a prince." The professor stumbled on her freakishly tall heels. Ranks appeared over our heads. Marella with a 3, Claire with a 5, Jaydra with a 2. I gazed up to find a gold 1 flying over my head. I smiled again, letting my happiness show through.

I had a break before Animal Communication so Marella and I went to check out the Groom Room. Inside, the girls' Groom Room looked like a medieval spa, with three bath pools with Hot, Cold, and Just Right, a Little Match Girl sauna, a few Rose Red makeup stations, a Cinderella-themed pedicure corner, and a shower built into a Little Mermaid lagoon. As I cleaned up and took a bath, Marella gave herself a pedicure and a manicure, did her makeup, and styled her hair. after I climbed out of the bath, dried myself, and put my uniform back on, Marella force-gave me another makeover. "Marella, I look fine!" I wailed. But Marella was relentless. She had this warped desire to make everything look perfect. Finally she had finished and I had been waxed, painted, styled and in a lot of pain. For a beauty queen, Marella was really strong. Soon the clock struck eleven. "Marella we're going to be late!" I wrenched her off me. "Just a little more eyeshadow…" Marella panted as we ran from the Groom Room to our next class.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Princess Uma looked way too young to be a teacher. Her hands folded in her pink dress, with black hair to her waist, olive skin, almond-shaped eyes, and crimson lips pursed in a tight O, she would call to a dove or a fox and they would respond in their hoots and chirps. When she did speak, it was in a giggly whisper, but she couldn't make it through a full sentence. When she realized she had a whole class staring at her, she turned to us and say we were staring. "Oops!" she giggled. "I have too many friends!"

I almost rolled my eyes. "Who hires the teachers here?" I wondered. "we have a crazy bird lady, a stupid beauty queen and a crackpot blind man." I turned back to the teacher.

"I know everyone wants to be a pretty princess," said Uma, "but those of you with low ranks won't make good princesses. You'd end up shot or stabbed or eaten and that's not very useful. But as a sidekick fox or spying sparrow or friendly pig, you might find a much happier ending!" She squeaked through her teeth, and an otter bobbed to shore from the lake, balancing a storybook on its nose. She held out her hands. The otter bumped the book with his nose to find the right page. "you might make a ball gown," Uma said, eyeing the bumbling creature. "Or you might deliver a message to a prince or—here we go!" The otter had found the page. He slid the book into her hands, and collapsed from stress. "You might even save a life," said Uma, holding up a painting of a princess cowering as a stag speared a warlock. The princess looked just like her. "Once upon a time, an animal saved my life and in return, it received the happiest ending of all." "She's a princess." I thought, amazed at the story. "So if you want to be like me, you need to do well in today's challenge and every challenge after!"

She pulled us over to a pond. "But if animals are going to help us, first we have to tell them what we want!" Uma said, kneeling before the gleaming blue lake. "So today's challenge is . . ." She swirled her finger in the water and a thousand white fish surfaced. "Wish Fish!" Uma beamed. "They dig inside your soul and find your greatest wish! Now all you do is put your finger in the water and the fish will read your soul. The girl with the strongest, clearest wish wins!"

We all lined up, and I was second to last. Claire was behind me.

Jenna went first. She closed her eyes and put her head in the water. the fish turned red, black, and peach, and started drawing some kind of picture. "Jackson!" She squeaked. "Honer tower. room five."And so it began. Mia wished for blond-haired Aiden. Marella wished for Aiden's bunkmate Liam. Jaydra wished for Lucas. Nina wished for Noah. This was not surprising in the least. Finally it was my turn. I closed my eyes and put my finger in the water. When I opened it I gasped. It was Nick and I, and we were at the sign I saw him drawing. we were sitting on the hillside, having a picnic. And he was holding out a small velvet box with a ring inside. I looked over and saw the teacher's eyes wet with tears. She sniffled a little then turned to us. "ohh." she looked at Claire. "one more to go?" She nodded and put her finger in the water. The fish turned all different colors then drew a picture. It was a small town square and she was in the middle with a girl a few years younger than her, who I'm guessing was her sister, a man and a woman I'm guessing was her parents and a mean-looking girl and a fair-haired boy holding her sister's hands. "Mama, Papa, Honera, Vanessa, Stefan!" Claire pointed to them. "Oh sorry, that's my mom, dad, sister and her two best friends, Vanessa and Stefan." She looked at them sadly. "I really miss them." A gold 1 appeared over her head. I looked up to see a 2 hovering above me. I smiled, even wider than before as I saw Claire's face light up with happiness as the 1 floated over her head. As we walked to lunch, Claire, Jaydra, Marella and I talked of Claire's home. "It's called Gavaldon and it's surrounded by woods on every side. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month the school master comes and takes us there. We are taken from our beds and brought to the forest and woah…." As we climbed out of the tunnel of trees we saw the Clearing, a huge picnic field outside the Blue Forest gates. As soon as we came through the Good tunnel, we followed the line of Evers getting picnic baskets from nymphs in red hoods, while watching Nevers from the Evil tunnel take rusty pails from red-suited wolves. I was the first to get my basket so I looked for a spot. "Here!" I shouted as found a shady patch of grass next to a willow tree. We all sat down and I reached into my basket to find a delicious lunch of lamb sandwiches, caesar salad, raspberry soufflé, and a glass of sparkling blood orange water. "mmm" I mumbled as I dug in. As we dug into our lunches, we made idle chitchat but since none of us had breakfast, conversation was lost. Soon the bells rang for the end of lunch and we all walked back through the tunnel, food in our bellies and heads ready to learn


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"How do you think he's going to get there?" I asked Claire. She shrugged. "I don't know? Maybe they have two bodies or something." If I thought that Beautification or Animal Communication was bad, Princess Etiquette, taught by Pollux, was worse. He arrived in a bad mood, hobbling with his massive canine head attached to a bunny's carcass and muttering that Castor "has the body this week." He looked up and saw 20 girls staring at him. "And here I thought I was teaching princesses. All I see are twenty ill-mannered girls gaping like frogs." We all stopped staring after that. The first lesson was "Princess Posture," which involved the girls descending the four tower staircases with nests of nightingale eggs on their head. "Princesses must have perfect posture." Pollux said. I walked up the blue Valor staircase and put the nest on my head. "Here we go." Slowly,and this was torturous because, A. I was wearing heels, B. the towers were glass so they were slippery, and C. because of the absurdity of a scrawny dog head balancing on a bunny carcass made me want to throw up. Somehow I managed to get down without breaking any and earned a 4. Marella got a 1. "She's probably been placing books on her head since she was a baby. " I thought. Claire had less lucky. she was doing great until her heel snapped and she fell. Fortunately for her, Pollux gave her a restart because it was not her fault and she ended up with a 7. As Pollux bid us good day, I took a little bit of a long way so I could see the ranks. Nick and I were tied for third. "This is good." I thought as I left to go to my next class.

The last class of the day, Surviving Fairy Tales, was the only one that mixed students from Good and Evil. As both schools reported to the Blue Forest gates, where fairies sorted them into Forest Groups. There were eight Evers and eight Nevers in each evers and nevers found their leaders, an ogre for Group 2, a centaur for Group 8, a gnome for 3, Claire and I sat under a green flag with a blue 12. I braided her hair and we talked. "7th!" Claire wailed. "At this rate I turn into a squirrel by Christmas." "Here" I said holding her. "If we end up with different tracks and I can't tell it's you or you can't tell it's me…" I held up two fingers to my chest. "If you see an animal do that or vice versa, then you know I me or I'll know it's you." "What do you think?" Marella said. She had just came from the Groom Room, judging by the extra makeup. "Do you think I'm ready to go to the Snow Ball?" Marella said twirling. She handed a pair of heels to Claire, was still wearing the broken one. "Here, Pollux told me to give them to you." Claire put them on. "What's the Snow Ball?" she asked. "The Ever's Snow Ball of course! It's right before Christmas and every one of us has to find a boy to take us or we're failed! We get ranked as couples based on our presentation, demeanor, and dancing." Marella said. "You still want Liam?" I asked. "Yeah, but he likes Mia. You still want that strange boy, Nicholas, was that his name?" "Nick," I said. "but yeah." Marella turned to Claire." Who do you want?" Before she could answer, and possibly throw up, a tall nymph with light blue skin and dark green hair climbed out of the pond we were sitting next to. "Come," she said in an airy voice. She pointed to a trail going into the forest. For a moment, everything was quiet as we marveled at the blue wonderland around us. Every tree, every flower, every blade of grass sparkled a different hue of blue. Beams of sun slipped through canopies, lighting up turquoise trunks and midnight blooms. Deer grazed on sky blue lilacs, crows and hummingbirds tweeted in sapphire nettles, squirrels and rabbits jumped through navy briars to join storks sipping from an aquamarine pond. No animals seemed skittish or the slightest bit bothered by the crisscrossing student tours. Where I had always associated forests with danger and darkness, something I would only venture into for the sake of my father, this one trembled with beauty and life.

The nymph rattled off the history of the Blue Forest in her watery, airy voice. Once upon a time, there had been no joint classes for School for Good and School for Evil students. Instead, children had graduated straight from their school's training into the Endless Woods. But before they could ever fight, Good and Evil fell prey to hungry animals, man-eating insects, and the occasional carnivores daisy. "We had forsaken the obvious," said the nymph. "You cannot survive your fairy tale if you cannot survive the Woods." So the Blue Forest was created. "Now, for the class challenge," the nymph explained that each student had to distinguish between a disguised Ever and Never by observing their behavior. Whoever correctly identified the Good student and the Evil student in the fastest time would receive first rank. Marella was blindfolded first. The nymph stabbed a glowing blue finger at Liam and a Neverboy named Crow, who magically shriveled in their blue and black clothes, smaller, smaller, until they slithered out of them, identical pink cobras. Marella took off the blindfold. "Feel with your heart!" the nymph called. Marella closed her eyes, slowly walked forward and picked up a snake. As his scales softened to skin, Liam grew in her arms and a gold 1 appeared over both of their heads. And so it began. Some people were more incompetent than others, like that Neverboy, Crow who couldn't tell between Jaydra and a Nevergirl named Catherine. Then it was my turn. Claire stood next to a Nevergirl named Mal with purple hair and a villainous sneer. I pulled the blindfold off to find two identical foxes. One was sneering. I crouched down next to the other. "Claire?" I whispered. She put two fingers to her chest. I picked her up. "This is Claire!" She grew in my arms, up until her blond-haired head was level with mine, and a gold 1 burst above our heads.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day, I stumbled into my pink uniform, gave my hair a quick brush and was about to take the most indirect route to beautification, so as not to be harassed by Marella, when she ran in, took one look at me, and shoved me into a chair. "Marella!" I yelled, gasping for air as she spread makeup on my face. "I swear when my hands find your neck…." Marella powdered my cheeks, painted my lips, did my hair and glitter-dusted my face before she let go. "Marella" I panted, hands shaking. "We don't have to do that every day, right?" Marella pretended not to hear me. " so do you think Liam likes me now, or do think he still likes Ava?" I rolled my eyes. We had this conversation yesterday night, and I was sick of it. "Come on" I said, pulling her away from the mirror. "I'm getting breakfast today." After a quick breakfast, I headed over to Good Deeds. As I ran to class, I stuffed my books and sewing kit in my basket and took a few quick bites of my apple when Nick walked by. "Hi." I said, a little shyly. I didn't really know what to say to him. He waved at me. "Hey Asia." I blushed. I had no idea what to say to him. I finally managed out, "I'm headed over to Good Deeds." "Cool" he said, shifting the small parcel he always had slung over his shoulder from side to side. "Can I come with?" I laughed. This boy was so uncomfortable here, a million miles away from any kind of comfort zone, but somehow so adorable. "Sure, but you have to keep me from Marella." I teased. "I think she's going in for the kill." He laughed, and the very sound made me a little giddy. That was before I saw the clock. "Come on." I pulled him up the stairs and into Professor Dovey's classroom. I looked around the classroom and was immediately relieved to see we had gotten there on time. The professor looked up from her papers. " Asia, Nicholas, good to see you here on time. That's more than I can say for Mrs. Marella." She pointed to the empty seat. I almost rolled my eyes. She was probably at the groom room again. She started to drone on and on about the goodness of good deeds and my eyes started to droop. Then I saw a crumpled up piece of pink parchment on my desk. I picked it up and glanced at Nick. He gave me a wink. I opened it. It said two words, two simple words, but my heart leaped so high it could have joined the birds in flight.

It said "Balcony, Midnight"


End file.
